An Epicurean Manifesto

Contemporary academic philosophy fails to perform the time-honored
therapeutic function of philosophy, leading to the marginalization of
philosophy as a discipline and an increase in poor public philosophic
hygiene. The study of ancient Greek philosophy, particularly that of
Epicurus, can greatly enrich and heal our neurotic culture, bringing to
it a lost art of thinking that is at once old and new.

The Failure of Philosophy

What do Epicurus, Friedrich Nietzsche, John Dewey and Ludwig
Wittgenstein have in common? All four of these respected modern
philosophers accuse philosophy as a discipline of the failure to
respond to the philosophical needs of society. Philosophy has currently
become devalued to the degree that the one-time “Queen of the
Faculties” is now reduced to a narrow, dry field that seeks to drive
away all but the most anal retentive nerds and the terminally
boring/confusing geeks among those of us called to worship at the
temple of Athene.

Over two millennia ago, Epicurus said: “Empty is that
philosopher’s argument which by no human suffering is therapeutically
treated. For just as there is no use in a medical art that does not
cast out the sickness of bodies, so too there is no use in philosophy,
if it does not throw out suffering from the soul.” (Us. 221 –
Porph Ad Marc .31, p. 209 23 N; as in Nussbaum, p. 102)

Nietzsche decried the dishonesty of a philosophy that quests after
some veiled abstract truth that no one but another professional
philosopher could possibly appreciate (Raabe, p. 1, Suber, p. 2 and
Melchert, ps. 549 & 600). Dewey urged the community of philosophy
to become involved in solving human problems, not rhetorical ones
(Raabe, p.2 and Melchert, ps. 594 & 595). Ludwig Wittgenstein
questioned the use of philosophy if it had no application to the
“important questions of everyday life.” (Raabe, p. 1) A philosophy that
does not address human issues has little relevance outside its austere
domain, and is justifiably marginalized by disciplines that better
serve human issues. If philosophy as a distinct discipline or
legitimate profession is to survive, she must be awake and responsive
to the aching need for individual and social philosophical hygiene.

Moribund Philosophy

At some point in the last one hundred or so years, something
happened to philosophy.

Instead of being the field of thought that acted as the catalyst
between different disciplines, philosophy found herself losing ground
that had once been securely within her domain, such as political
theory, psychology and physics. Once stripped of her breadth of vision
by her own children, the encroaching sciences, philosophy herself
seemed to forget her once lofty role.

Trying to fit herself into the confines imposed by her ungrateful
offspring, philosophy turned to sterile abstraction and meaningless
regurgitation of the history of philosophy, rather than risking any
original thoughts. Philosophy withdrew into herself, withdrawing from
the tangible challenge of practical human dilemmas. Philosophy whored
herself to the sciences and linguistics, teaching inductive and
predicate logic without teaching about the larger philosophical context
from which logic gets its meaning and justification. Philosophy has
failed to re-assert her sovereignty, abdicating her throne as the
discipline that combines and explains the cosmos, both inner and out.
In her despondency, philosophy turned against herself, and began to
erode her own historic foundations with acidic analysis, committing
slow suicide as she systematically proved the logical fallibility and
unreliability of every proposed ethic.

“[I]t cannot be just a question of philosophy having somehow
spontaneously withered away over the past century or so; rather the
significant fact is that there has been a deliberate and resolute
effort to overthrow it, and that this indeed has been the principle
project of philosophy itself in the ultra-modern era.” (Emphasis
original. Jackson, p.2)

Post-modernists have claimed that the era of philosophy ended with
Hegel and the denial of an absolutist worldview. Now, rationality has
fallen from grace in a relativist culture. Reason no longer serves as
the prime justifier, and wisdom is no longer sought in the field of
higher education. Now, the parroting of professor’s pet theories and
the flattery of administrative egos has supplanted the search for
understanding. Higher education has become extended vocational
training, with anything not contributing to that end vulnerable to
budget cuts and loss of faculty.

The Need for Philosophy

As F.C. Schiller wrote in 1933: “The naïve student insists on
viewing the system [of philosophy] from the outside, as a logical
structure, and not as a psychological process extending over a
lifetime. And he thereby throws away, or loses, the key to understand.”
(in Suber, p.3)

Philosophy has historically been a subjective exercise, aimed at the
dual goals of wisdom and personal enlightenment. These dual goals did
not find value in the obscure and irrelevant, but rather sought the
practical application of philosophy to resolve the complexities and
paradoxes of human life and interaction. By viewing philosophy as a
specialized field, rather than interdisciplinary, academic philosophy
has failed to meet the deep human need for wisdom and understanding
that gave rise to the birth of philosophy. Philosophy is not an
empirical science and loses all justification if treated as such. The
need for wisdom is as tangible today as it was two thousand years ago.
But the only surviving philosophical establishments continually fail to
answer this need.

But it was not always so…

Past Resurgence

“Natural philosophy does not make people boastful and loud
mouthed, nor flaunters of culture, the thing so hotly competed for
among the multitude, but modest and self-sufficient and proud at their
own goods, not at those of their circumstances.” ~ (Epicurus
Vatican Saying 45)

Ancient philosophers like Plato, Aristotle and Epicurus, were
concerned with understanding the mysteries of the universe and the
human psyche. They did not primarily concern themselves with the proper
establishment of symbolic logic or the ranking of trivia. Ancient
philosophy was used as a means of identifying and achieving what leads
to a life well lived.

In the past two decades, a revival of ancient Greek thought has
emerged, particularly in the field of ethics. Virtue Ethics
(as this movement is called) harkens back to a teleological view of
human life. Ancient philosophers often referred to their goal as eudaemonia,
which has been translated variously as pleasure, happiness and
flourishing, but the idea is intuitively evident, despite the
difficulty in translation. Eudaemonia, as the idea of a satisfying,
complete life, implies some degree of both social connection to others
and existential health. The cultivation of certain virtues is seen as
instrumental in achieving eudaemonia, primarily, the practice of phronesis
is critical. In Aristotle, this is often taken to mean practical
wisdom. In Epicurus, phronesis is often taken to mean prudence. Either
way, the thought is the same: the exercise of reason is essential to
discerning the path to eudaemonia.

This ancient philosophy has been adapted and re-fitted for
contemporary tastes by Neo-Aristotelian Virtue Ethicists, such as
Alasdair MacIntyre and Rosalind Hursthouse. In Neo-Aristotelian Virtue
Ethics, the goal of eudaemonia is sought through the achievement of a
moderation of the virtues that is neither deficient nor excessive.
Sweet eudaemonia lies in maintaining a balance between extremes. Virtue
leads to eudaemonia through appropriateness in manner, desires and
actions.

Although Virtue Ethics acknowledges and tries to correct Aristotle’s
cultural shortcomings regarding the status of women and charges of
elitism, the Neo-Aristotelian Virtue ethicists generally accept
Aristotle’s implicit assumption of the philosophical good health of
social institutions and practices. From our current standpoint in an
age of relativism, it is obvious to us that our customs and beliefs are
rarely infected by rationality.

In the melting pot of America, we have the wholesale public adoption
of bits and pieces from rival and often conflicting belief systems, as
advertisers and spin doctors compete for our allegiance and our money.
Our society is observably neurotic. But this is nothing new – humanity
has always been plagued by the dilemma of conflicting goods. It just
wasn’t as evident or as pressing in the days before mass communication
and the population explosion.

But there was one ancient philosopher who was able to hear beyond
the droning, reassuring lullaby of Mother Culture….

Two millennia ago, Epicurus called the whole fabric of social
beliefs and practices into question, unlike Aristotle, who assumed that
most socially derived beliefs and practices (hence, society itself) to
be mostly true and healthy. Epicurus held this to be an extremely naïve
assumption. Greed, anxiety, ambition and erotic obsession are the
obvious evidence that society is not based on any model of rational or
even healthy beliefs. Aristotle’s dialectic assumes aristocratic values
as the norm, thus perpetuating elitism, as only those with the
resources and education of an aristocrat could afford to engage in it.
(Nussbaum, p.104) Therefore, a resurrection of Aristotelian thought
carries limitations set by the basic assumptions of its paradigmatic
model.

The philosophy of Epicurus provides a more suitable foundation for a
recovery of the practice of philosophy, as it avoids the stumbling
block of dependence on externals to achieve eudaemonia. The standards
Epicurus employs are not culturally dependent in the sense that taints
Aristotle’s ethics. Instead, the goal of eudaemonia is a subjective
state of well being and not an external display. Katastemic
disturbances of the soul are considered worse by far than kinetic pains
in the body (Diogenes Laertius, 10.137 text 9). Pains in the body can
be easily ignored or sedated, but you can never escape your own
existential self without help. Peace of mind and painlessness in the
body are the ultimate goal of Epicurean philosophy and therapy.

Philosophy is the means by which disturbances of the soul are cast
out. Disturbances of the soul are caused by false belief and so-called
“empty” desires, which are either avoidable altogether or amenable to
alleviation. Human misery, Epicurus contended, is caused by endless
demands of uncontrolled desire. As most desires are based on false
belief, the removal or modification of the false belief can effectively
remove the desire, and hence, the misery of dissatisfaction. (Nussbaum,
p. 50)

The Four-Fold Remedy

Epicurus proposed the Four-fold Remedy as the
means to armor oneself against the “slings and arrows of outrageous
fortune.” The Four-fold Remedy dissolves the fundamental obstacle to
happiness: Anxiety. The Four-fold Remedy deserves much greater depth
and space than is allowable within the constraints of this essay. Space
allows only a cursory review of the heart of Epicurus’ teachings.
(Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus 127-32, Diogenes Laertius 10.121-135)

The Four-fold Remedy is:

Don’t fear the gods

Don’t worry about death,

What is good is easy to get and,

What is terrible is easy to endure (of short duration).

This effectively claims to do away with fear (both mortal and
immortal), greed and status seeking. The emphasis is on learning to
discern which desires are “natural (or normative, without excess),
which are “natural but not necessary” (such as the desire for sex), and
which desires are “empty” (inspired by the corruption of society).
(Cicero, Tusclulan Disputation 5.93)

The Rediscovery of Applied Philosophy

In The Therapy of Desire, Martha Nussbaum discusses how
Epicurus’ ancient techniques of applied philosophy might fill the void
left when academic philosophy abandoned her therapeutic role.

The application of Epicurean therapy acts as a curative for wrong or
dysfunctional beliefs, judgements and desires. Society is not held to
be ethically healthy, and as such, it can infect individuals with its
sickness. Childrearing techniques are often defective, with undue
stress on wealth, status and competition. This can easily warp the
defenseless soul of a child.

Epicurean therapy, as interpreted by Nussbaum, carries a commitment
to action. This active philosophy seeks to restore the
student to moral health through rigorous examination of beliefs,
judgements and desires. This is to be opposed to a passive philosophy,
content merely to record and systemize beliefs, like a cow chewing her
cud. Epicurean philosophy is pro-active in alleviating suffering,
instead of assigning the redemption of the masses to the mercy of
religion, politics or medicine.

Epicurean philosophy is not merely reflective and abstract – its
goal is no less than the change and redemption of the world, one mind
at a time. The identification of an incorrect belief or judgement goes
a long way towards the resolution of the problem. Therapeutic
philosophy scrutinizes deeply entrenched, unconscious beliefs for
falsehood and fallacy.

Problems interfering with the eudaemonic goal are seen to originate
not within the person or the emotions, but rather, to be the result of
a cognitive problem. Passions are held to rest upon the corrupt beliefs
foisted by a corrupt society, and so liable to the same critiques as
the social fabric. All human societies suffer from passions run
rampant: anger, fear and erotic obsession; but each society has its own
particular system of beliefs which gives rise to these passions.
Therefore, applied philosophic techniques must take differences in
cultures into consideration. To deal with the passions, reason is not
abandoned, as passions are seen to be motivated by deeply held beliefs.

In Epicurus’ thinking, humans are born with a full capacity for
flourishing, but this innate ability becomes corrupted through the
adoption of socially derived “norms” which usurp the original, natural
system of beliefs, creating a false self that is a slave to these
culturally inspired corrupt feelings. (Nussbaum, p. 107) Without social
conditioning, Epicurus claims that humans would be free from most
psychic pain and disturbance. (Epicurus, Key Doctrines 7,40; Diogenes
Laertius 10.117-20)

Eudaemonia, or fulfillment, is not a mere negative state, free of
anxiety, pain and everything fun. It is also a positive state, in that
it implies a fully functional, unimpeded activity using all the
faculties. It is by no means stagnant or inactive.

“Philosophy heals human diseases, diseases produced by false
beliefs. Its arguments are to the soul as the doctor’s remedies are to
the body. They can heal, and they are to be evaluated in terms of their
power to heal. As the medical art makes progress on behalf of the
suffering body, so philosophy for the soul in distress. Correctly
understood, it is no less than the soul’s art of life (techne biou).”
(Nussbaum. p.14)

Epicurean philosophy differs from psychoanalysis in one critical way
that must be noted: psychology does not want to admit to a “normative
idea of health,” being content to just remove or alleviate troublesome
symptoms. Epicurus employed the ultimate standard of Katastemic
pleasure (freedom from fear and anxiety) as the end of eudaemonia to
restore students to a flourishing life, and not just the reduction of
symptoms. (ibid. p.26)

As Mother Culture’s crooning is often a corrupting influence,
Epicurus appealed to a concept of nature that implies a normative state
(ex: the “cradle” arguments in Diogenes Laertius 2.88, Inwood and
Gerson, p. 44-45). This is an appeal to a state of nature prior to the
corruption of society. This is necessarily value-laden, what Bernard
Williams would term a “thick” concept. This “natural” norm is justified
by deep human feelings and desires, not through any scientific means.
Because this “nature” carries its own inherent values, it sees many
articles of daily belief to be “impediments to flourishing.” (Nussbaum.
p.32) Healthy, “natural” desires are easily fulfilled, whereas “empty”
desires are never satisfied.

Three diagnostic ideas/tools are utilized by Epicurean therapy:

First, the philosophic practitioner requires a tentative
diagnosis of the disease(s) and which conflicting beliefs/judgements
may be responsible for preventing the student from satisfaction with
life.

Secnod, some teleological standard of satisfaction is required in
advance as the criteria of wholeness. This standard or norm is usually
general and open to amendment as needed.

Lastly, the philosophical practitioner requires a conception of
the appropriate philosophical method and procedure required to treat
the situation. (Nussbaum. p.28)

These philosophic tools provide for the recognition of error and
tend, by their very nature, to lead to a direct grasp of the truth.

False beliefs lead to empty desires. The cure for false beliefs must
challenge and defeat false belief through reason. Thus, philosophy is
the cure necessary to a fulfilling life.

The Rationality of Emotion

Epicurean therapy urges the student to deal with irrational emotions
(passions) as well as with beliefs and judgements. Reason is seen as
the means to diagnose and relieve the passions. The argument is that
even “irrational” passions have some system of belief. Modification of
belief is held to result in a modification of the passions. In other
words, intellect can and does control and modify both the emotions and
bodily desires (appetites). Emotions, therefore, are granted a
cognitive component that can be addressed by the practice of
therapeutic philosophy. Epicurean philosophy supposes that the emotions
are more complex and ruled by reason than usually given in most
accounts of the emotions. To deal with passion, therapeutic philosophy
does not abandon reason and arguments in favor of popping a Zoloft or
St. John’s Wort pill. Therapeutic philosophy takes up the ancient
challenge to confront the foundational assumptions, beliefs and
judgements of passions, themselves motivated by deep-seated beliefs and
arguments. In therapeutic philosophy, some emotions are taken as
“natural,” but most emotions and passions are held to be social
constructs and hence requiring restructuring. (ibid. p.40)

Therapeutic philosophy must therefore rely on many forms of
interventionist procedures to heal, not just relying on dialectic, as
Aristotle did. Dialectic alone often does not carry the necessary
impact to dislodge obstacles to flourishing. Therapeutic philosophy
will also use indirect techniques to delve deep into student’s psyches,
in addition to straightforward deductive arguments. Thus philosophy can
make full use of narrative, imagination, friendship and trust, as well
as rhetoric, to regain her lofty perch.

Features of Epicurean Therapy

There are several distinct features of Epicurean philosophic
therapy, as interpreted by Nussbaum. These include:

A practical goal – all arguments are aimed at curing false
beliefs and bringing the student to eudaemonia. Arguments must be
causally effective and cure or change unwanted beliefs and behaviors.

Value-relativity – this challenges students to see their cure as
fulfilling their deepest desires. This involves getting students to
recognize which desires are empty and which are choiceworthy.

Responsiveness – arguments are adaptive to particular cases and
situations. Treatment is highly individualized as needed.

All arguments are directed to health as an individual, not
applying a pre-established social or communal end.

Reasoning is only instrumental to the achievement of eudaemonia
and is not itself the goal. False beliefs cannot be permanently
eradicated, and so even reason is vulnerable to the corrupting
influences from society.

The standards of virtue (ex: consistency, logic, validity and
clarity) are purely instrumental. That is, they are valuable only so
far as they lead to true beliefs. If the arguments fail to move the
student, they are worthless.

Asymmetry of roles – the student relies on the philosophic
practitioner, like a medical patient relies on a doctor for a cure.
Patients must be able to trust the knowledge and motives of their
practitioner.

Separation from alternative views – as Epicurus withdrew from the
madness of the world to the Garden, so therapeutic philosophy seeks to
shield its students from the corruption of the world. (ibid, p. 120 –
130)

As the above list shows, therapeutic philosophy is well suited to
meet the needs of many a neurotic at the dawn of the third millennium.

Practices of Epicurean Therapy

Epicurean therapy utilizes three primary practices in pursuit of
eudaemonia.

The first is memorization – the repetition of
Epicurus’ teachings makes the teachings internal, stimulating a
subjective comprehension of the nature of desire.

Second is confession: a psychic purge in which
symptoms are brought into the open for analysis, diagnosis and
treatment.

And finally, informing – in which the
practitioner uses alternative means to complete the diagnosis of
reluctant confessors. (ibid. p. 132)

The deepest practices of Epicurean therapy pre-suppose an intended
community dedicated to the telos of a particular view of eudaemonia.
The whole environment is intended to contribute the greatest katastemic
and kinetic pleasures to its members. Towards that end, the student
must be willing to submit herself to the discipline of this kind of
therapy. It will not appeal to all, as the choice of a philosophy is
highly personal. But for some kinds of philosophers and some kinds of
students, Epicureanism is highly appealing, either as a member of such
a community or adapting Epicurus’ teachings to accommodate a worldly
life. While some might recoil in distaste at the Epicurean practice of
informing, we often fail to see the plank in our own eyes and we are
incapable of confessing what we deny exists.

In dealing with deep-seated beliefs and judgements, Epicurus was the
first philosopher to acknowledge the unconscious and to work on it
through cognitive therapy.

“Therapeutic argument is searchingly concrete. It approaches the
pupil with a keen awareness of the daily fabric of her beliefs. And it
holds, as well, that this fabric of belief is learned in particular
cultural circumstances – to it commits itself to learning about and
grappling with those circumstances.” (ibid. p. 44)

Re-Evaluating Philosophy

As I claimed earlier, philosophy has abdicated her interdisciplinary
throne, lowering her horizons and contenting herself with musty volumes
and obscure journals full of dull, hair splitting rhetoric. Of what
ultimate value is all this abstract analysis of minutia, while
literally billions of people suffer from the deleterious effects of
poor philosophical hygiene? In my humble opinion, philosophy has
allowed the abuse and ingratitude of her offspring to shake her
self-esteem and hence curtail her ability to shape social and personal
realities.

For too long, the study of philosophy has meant the study of the
history of philosophy. The practice of therapeutic philosophy, whether
by the Epicurean model outlined above, or through the Neo-Aristotelian
Virtue Ethics, espouses an active philosophy that engages the lives of
practitioners and students alike, instead of being confined to
mind-numbing tomes and boring lectures. In short, the larger concept of
philosophy goes beyond the bounds of any curriculum or professional
prestige. The view of therapeutic philosophy I advocate in this essay
may not get me tenure, but it has the potential to change the world: to
make philosophy more accessible to a public in dire need. A more
philosophically hygienic world would be of benefit to everyone.

I further charge that those professional philosophers who have not
used their privileged knowledge therapeutically have failed philosophy
when they refused to defend her honor as the “queen of the faculties,”
when they forsook the philosophical needs of society for the sake of
keeping their tenure. When they sold out. Of what use is a dry, stale
philosophy which matters to life not one whit? Who needs it? I don’t.

What I do need is a philosophy that enhances, enriches and – dare I
say it – redeems human life. I need a philosophy that is the foundation
and catalyst of all the other fields. I need a philosophy that lives
and responds to the individuals who partake of her blessings. I need a
philosophy that is, above all, an art of thinking, which helps me to
untie the knots of my thinking by examining the beliefs that sabotage
my peace of mind. I need a philosophy that “… is an activity that
secures the flourishing life by arguments and reasonings.” (Sextus
M 11.169.Us219) As a lover of wisdom, I need philosophy to reclaim her
rightful place and mediator and transcender of knowledge. I need to
know that the sacrifices laid at Athene’s altar are not in vain. I need
for it to really mean something when someone says “Doctor of
Philosophy”… And I’ve got a hunch that a lot of others need that kind
of philosophy too.

Conclusion – Everything old is new again

I can’t help but wonder if this is an instance of infinite
reoccurrence, as Epicurus’ atomism suggests.

But seriously, Epicurus’ therapeutic teachings seem amazingly sane,
indeed, frighteningly so. To adequately describe the scope and depth of
Epicurus’ eudaemonic teachings would require volumes itself, and is
unfortunately beyond the scope of this essay. But the adoption of the
Epicurean telos of katastemic pleasure seems most appealing to those
buffeted on the high seas of life. The older I get, the more I crave
undisturbedness. For this reason, I usually abhor procrastination.
Recently, I have experienced the disturbance of conflicting goods. In
my studies of Epicurus, I found myself applying his wise teachings to
my own dilemmas. In examining my own beliefs, I found many of them to
be empty desires, which no amount of striving will ever fulfill. I
consider this to be invaluable self-knowledge. Although the process is
arduous and continual, I truly have come to believe that philosophical
hygiene is the greatest problem facing humanity. I charge that if you
call yourself a philosopher and are not doing your part to bring others
to philosophic health, then you are part of the problem, and not worthy
of the honor of calling yourself a philosopher.

… So… Which side of the fence are you on?

And the blessed teacher wrote: “Let nobody put off doing
philosophy when he is young, nor slacken off in philosophy because of
old age. For nobody is either too young nor too old to secure the
health of the soul.” ~ (Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus 122,
in Inwood and Gerson, p. 28)